Educators' handbook on effective testing /

In a world replete with finding aids for test instruments (e.g., Mental Measurements Yearbook; Test Critiques, ten vols.), the first question is whether this new volume is needed. The authors make a powerful case for their work, arguing that standard guides to testing are aimed more at the psychometricians who create the tests than at the educators who must administer them and make real-life decisions about a student's education based on the results. With reviews of over 100 tests in five core categories (admissions, placement, instructional prescription, achievement certification, and referral), this collection aims to provide a "practical analysis of published tests used in schools" so that educators can make informed decisions about the instruments used to guide educational decision making. The volume also includes a number of helpful indexes to assist the reader (including by title, acronym, and student characteristic or content area tested), as well as an effective introduction to key concepts in testing (e.g., validity) and to critical issues in the contemporary testing environment. Recommended for academic libraries.-Scott Walter, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.